Saturday, March 28, 2009

Coin Lace Scarf

It's red!

I really stepped out of my colour box with this one!

I knew it would be hard for me to pick a new colour out in the yarn store, so I went online beforehand and chose the colour and brand and then a few days later I walked bravely into the yarn shop, grabbed the skein (I hardly even looked at it) and then proceeded to walk around glancing at new arrivals and looking at my old friends, blue and green. I finally brought my yarn up to the cash register and bought it.

It was a big moment.

At any rate, I must admit I really do like this colour...a lot. It's been really good for me to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. They don't always have to be the exact opposite of what my typical choice would be, but remembering to keep my mind open has allowed me to start being more creative and well, open!

As I'm choosing yarn for new projects, I'm finding myself falling in love with a much different palette of colours, many of which I never looked at twice before!

Mods: I made the scarf version, and only repeated the increase row twice (3x total), I did the same for the final decrease rows as well. The pattern calls for 20 repeats of the main body repeat, but I did 28 and could have done maybe 4-6 more with the yarn I had left. I really wanted to use up all the yarn, but I knew that the scarf was already long enough and would probably grow during blocking so I decided to just go ahead and work the decrease repeats.

Pre-blocking Measurement: 6"x65"

Post-blocking Measurements: 9x68"

I enjoyed knitting the pattern, it's a clever take on the popular clapotis pattern. The only thing I'm unhappy with is the increase edge. As I was knitting I knew I would have to do something about the combination of a "kfb" on the right side and the slipped stitch on the wrong side because it was creating very large, obvious loops on the edge, but when I blocked it I think I made it worse, so I may be re-blocking this soon.

(this photo is out of focus, but it gives an idea what the scarf looks like on)

I thought of using Knit Picks CotlinDK weight, but I read some reviews on it and apparently it gives off a lot of cotton fuzzies. I can't stand that, so Cotlin is out.

Bascially, I need a DK weight (or something that will knit up well at 5.5sts per in) that is a good blend for a spring cardi. Probably cotton, a cotton/wool blend or a silk blend would work. Any ideas?

I'm also a big fan of the mods CanarySanctuary made to Arisag (her blog post is here). I never gave this pattern a second look before, but after the seeing the mods, it went right into my queue.

I wanted to use Rowan cotton 4-ply for it, and I saw that it was on closeout over at webs, but I wavered too long and sadly it was all gone before I acted. :( I would still go with that choice, but at regular price, it's waay out of my yarn budget.

I'm also working on the sister's b-day gift, I want to get that started and finished as soon as possible so I'll have time to figure something else out if it doesn't turn out. :P

I won't be mentioning that much here, the sister reads the blog and while she knows I'll be knitting her gift I don't want to give too much away!